- Nashville Predators - they are not a very exciting team to watch, and their most-talented skaters (eg. Radulov & Kostitsyn) and tempermental, coaching headaches. However, you have to respect and appreciate a team in a small market that has had the same coach and the same General Manager since the franchise started in 1998. Obviously, their organization had a plan, stuck with it, and are now reaping the dividends.
NOTE: This was written before Radulov & Kostitsyn were suspended by the team for game #3 and the Preds got their first series win! Gotta love the fact that "talent" does not supercede the team expectations! - Phoenix Coyotes - Its nice to see some really classy guys - Shane Doan and Ray Whitney - be rewarded with success after years without it in a market and on a team that has had its share of off-ice drama. It would be easier to watch if they didn't have a few Calgary Flames "cast offs" (Daymond Langkow and Derek Morris) having success too!
- Los Angeles Kings - Again, with former Flames coach Darryl Sutter now the Kings' bench boss, its hard not to be envious. They have some talented players - Richards, Kopitar, Carter, Penner and Doughty - as well as a goaltender who seems to be in the zone, and they may be the team to beat in the West. Oh yeah, and they knocked off Vancouver, so how can you not cheer for them.
- St. Louis Blues - I just finished a quick visit with Tony Shostal, a former students who is also the biggest Blues fan I know (there's not many in Western Canada) and they have developed into a very strong team under Ken Hitchcock.
- New York Rangers - A good talent and a pretty good coach with solid playoff winning experience. They are also very solid in goal and should be the favorite, esp as the #1 seed, in the East.
- Philadelphia Flyers - After knocking off Pittsburgh, they have proven they are a force with an amazing offensive arsenal. They could challenge New York, but will have to get at least some goaltending from someone because Bryzgalov continues to look shaky (at best).
- Washington Capitals - Nice to see Dale Hunter (coach) have success, yet I don't think they'll be able to match NYR in a seven game series.
- New Jersey Devils - Amazing to see Martin Brodeur still providing stellar goaltending, though they're little known defence appears porous, not tough or offensive, and so Philly may really beat them up.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Reflections on Round #2 of the NHL Playoffs
Though I have not been watching the NHL playoffs as much as I would like, I have a few reflections to share on those teams that have advanced to round 2.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Humble Godly Servants
God has blessed my life with many humble, godly servants, and some of them do work out-of-the-spotlight that never will be noticed and that's the way they like it! Yesterday, I was reminded of this again and so I wanted to blog about it today.
Friday afternoon, my power wheelchair stopped working... again. I was coming home from the office with Sarah and the children and after going through the field, it suddenly would not turn left or go forward. If you wanted to spin in circles, fine. Otherwise, no go! This problem happened a few months ago (6-8-10 months ago, I cannot remember specifically) and without my wheelchair my mobility is limited and organizing my day becomes problematic, to say the least.
So, when it happened a while ago, I got another power wheelchair to borrow waiting for a new one to be provided by Easter Seals. One of these godly servants saw me using this other wheelchair and inquired about the status of my "old wheelchair." I said it was essentially dead and I was looking to acquire a new one. He asked if he could use it for parts, perhaps to build a go-cart for his grandchildren. I said yes and within a couple days, he came by and took it to his shop to tinker with.
Lo-and-behold, a couple days later I get a call saying "Its ready to go. Come by and pick it up." What? I didn't even know it could be fixed. And I hadn't asked for that. He told me what the problem was and that he just did such-and-such and it seems good to go. It was... and it has worked very well for a number of months. Needless to say, when the same problem arose Friday, I knew who to call.
No, I don't expect Joe to work miracles and keep this power wheelchair that I have been (ab)using for 16 years going forever. So I did call and check on the status of my "new wheelchair order" and received a call back on Tuesday morning to say they are ready to order it and the funding is in place. Thank God! However, before I had even reported that to my wife Tuesday afternoon, she mentioned "Oh yeah, Joe's wife called and we can go over anytime to pick up your wheelchair." Sure enough, Joe had again fixed it and after describing to me what the problem was, sent me speeding down the sidewalk again. Of course, any offer of payment for his work and time was graciously rebuffed and a sincere but embarassed "thank you" was all I could provide.
So to Joe Mudde and Art Krahn and my dad, John Ibbotson, and my father-in-law, Marlowe Hunt, Thank You so much for all you do for me and many others in humble service to God, knowing that He will repay you in eternity!
Friday afternoon, my power wheelchair stopped working... again. I was coming home from the office with Sarah and the children and after going through the field, it suddenly would not turn left or go forward. If you wanted to spin in circles, fine. Otherwise, no go! This problem happened a few months ago (6-8-10 months ago, I cannot remember specifically) and without my wheelchair my mobility is limited and organizing my day becomes problematic, to say the least.
So, when it happened a while ago, I got another power wheelchair to borrow waiting for a new one to be provided by Easter Seals. One of these godly servants saw me using this other wheelchair and inquired about the status of my "old wheelchair." I said it was essentially dead and I was looking to acquire a new one. He asked if he could use it for parts, perhaps to build a go-cart for his grandchildren. I said yes and within a couple days, he came by and took it to his shop to tinker with.
Lo-and-behold, a couple days later I get a call saying "Its ready to go. Come by and pick it up." What? I didn't even know it could be fixed. And I hadn't asked for that. He told me what the problem was and that he just did such-and-such and it seems good to go. It was... and it has worked very well for a number of months. Needless to say, when the same problem arose Friday, I knew who to call.
No, I don't expect Joe to work miracles and keep this power wheelchair that I have been (ab)using for 16 years going forever. So I did call and check on the status of my "new wheelchair order" and received a call back on Tuesday morning to say they are ready to order it and the funding is in place. Thank God! However, before I had even reported that to my wife Tuesday afternoon, she mentioned "Oh yeah, Joe's wife called and we can go over anytime to pick up your wheelchair." Sure enough, Joe had again fixed it and after describing to me what the problem was, sent me speeding down the sidewalk again. Of course, any offer of payment for his work and time was graciously rebuffed and a sincere but embarassed "thank you" was all I could provide.
So to Joe Mudde and Art Krahn and my dad, John Ibbotson, and my father-in-law, Marlowe Hunt, Thank You so much for all you do for me and many others in humble service to God, knowing that He will repay you in eternity!
Book Review: Heaven is Now by Andrew Farley
The sub-title of this book is what peaked my interest - "awakening your five spiritual senses to the wonders of grace." I am a left-brained, linear, thinker... not at all intuitive and not much of a "sensing" person. Thus, I figured this book would be a good stretch for me and my faith.
The author sets out to explain how we experience heaven here and now, on earth. In five sections, he presents how 1) We can feel the freedom of God's grace, 2) we can hear the Spirit bearing witness, 3) we can see the finished work of Jesus, 4) we can smell the fragrant aroma of Christ, and 5) we can taste the goodness of the Lord. While each theological area is clearly articulated, it unfortunately only appealed to my intellect, not my senses.
This was a thoroughly understandable and reasonable book to my way of thinking. The theology in this book was superb! A good mix of Old Testament and New Testament with thorough explanation of key verses throughout. The author did a great job of examining common evangelical phrases and ways of talking about faith, that actually contradict Scripture (even though well-intentioned). This was a superb theology text! Farley concluded each chapter with a "Heaven Speaks" section that summarized the truth of Scripture on the topic as if spoken from God (with Scripture references noted at the end) and then a reply in the form of a prayer.
However, this reader did not feel challenged with anything new - new information, new ways to think about Christian faith issues. It was what I would wish to write as a logical, thinking person who would explain how to "sense" and "feel" things in an orderly fashion. In its purpose it disappointed the reader, though it contains plenty of excellent, bibilical content.
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group"
The author sets out to explain how we experience heaven here and now, on earth. In five sections, he presents how 1) We can feel the freedom of God's grace, 2) we can hear the Spirit bearing witness, 3) we can see the finished work of Jesus, 4) we can smell the fragrant aroma of Christ, and 5) we can taste the goodness of the Lord. While each theological area is clearly articulated, it unfortunately only appealed to my intellect, not my senses.
This was a thoroughly understandable and reasonable book to my way of thinking. The theology in this book was superb! A good mix of Old Testament and New Testament with thorough explanation of key verses throughout. The author did a great job of examining common evangelical phrases and ways of talking about faith, that actually contradict Scripture (even though well-intentioned). This was a superb theology text! Farley concluded each chapter with a "Heaven Speaks" section that summarized the truth of Scripture on the topic as if spoken from God (with Scripture references noted at the end) and then a reply in the form of a prayer.
However, this reader did not feel challenged with anything new - new information, new ways to think about Christian faith issues. It was what I would wish to write as a logical, thinking person who would explain how to "sense" and "feel" things in an orderly fashion. In its purpose it disappointed the reader, though it contains plenty of excellent, bibilical content.
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group"
Monday, April 23, 2012
A couple interesting articles
The latest edition of the Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (JBMW) has a few interesting articles, though I especially like these two:
- Women, Stop Submitting to Men by Russell D. Moore
- "The Frank and Manly Mr. Ryle:" The Value of a Masculine Ministry by John Piper
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
God's Show & Tell
A couple weeks ago at the Treasuring Jesus marriage & family life conference, Kempton Turner shared a classic (a la John Piper) definition of God's glory: the outward radiance of the intrinsic beauty and greatness of His manifold perfections. As he continued to explain the concept in the course of the message, the words that came into my mind were "Show & Tell." So this morning at PCA elementary chapel I talked to the students about the idea that you are to be God's show and tell (see John 9:3ff and I Cor. 10:31). More than a little challenging to put the glory of God (esp the above definition) into words understandable and tangible for youngsters, but a good challenge nonetheless!
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Great April Fool's Joke
I was slightly embarrassed on Sunday morning when our pastor asked, "What day is it today?" and I mumbled "April Fool's Day" instead of the proper answer, "Palm Sunday" (Doh!). This morning I was encouraged to read the following press release on Professor John Stackhouse's blog... an April Fool's Joke! Evangelicals can be fun after all!
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